| Belle & Sebastian – The State I Am In Lyrics | 1 month ago |
|
I generally "get" this song but am so confused about the "kicking crutches" part, and am hoping someone can explain. I always interpreted the line about him being "moved to kick the crutches from my crippled friend" as sarcastic/self-loathing, as in, "oh, this young woman I married just to save from being deported actually loves me, how sweet, now I'm angry at myself for being so cold and I'm going to sink even lower by kicking my crippled friend's crutches over." Because I saw this as an act of cruelty, the following line ("she was not impressed") seemed, like many of Belle and Sebastian's lyrics, willfully sardonic/cutting. Because of COURSE no one, least of all his wife who is in love with him, would be "impressed" by someone knocking their cripple friend over--it's a tremendous understatement. But then he says WHY "she" wasn't impressed, and it's not because he kicked the friend's crutches away, it's because he "cured HER on the sabbath." (So now we know his crippled friend is female, which means it's a man tripping and humiliating a defenseless woman--the story gets even darker). This confused me so much. How is he "curing" her by kicking the crutches away? Again, I figured this was more of that witty Murdoch self-loathing irony--"not only did I do such a bad thing to her, I did in on the Sabbath," and he adds insult to (literal) injury by calling this act "curing." Then I figured he was going to confession for hurting his friend, and he takes the bride along. OK, got it. But then there's the line "when she saw the funny side.." The funny side...of what, basically? Him knocking his friend over by kicking over her crutches, like some insanely evil "America's Funniest Home Videos" clip? Like she's starting to share his cruel sense of humor? And so, through that dark bond, he then "introduces her to whiskey and gin" and they're both now immoral/degenerate? This is how I interpreted it. For years. But it just didn't add up given how the rest of the song plays out, and how moral/remorseful his character seems later on. So today I did some Google searching and realized the "cured" thing is a biblical reference--Jesus freed a woman of her handicap by fixing her broken legs and removing her crutches, but doing miracles on the Sabbath was forbidden by God. So now it seems that, despite the violent, cruel imagery of "kicking crutches," the narrator really WAS moved to do a GOOD thing, that is curing his friend, as Jesus did, of her handicap. But he's so deeply religious that he has to go to confession as if 1995 is somehow the olden days and you still can't do miracles on the Sabbath? OK, fine, but still not explained is what the "funny side" is that his child bride saw. What happened during the confession that made her laugh? And why does that then lead to him corrupting her with drink? (Or maybe it's not corruption at all, maybe they are just celebrating something together?) Can someone explain? Thank you! |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.